Dr David Scott, Editor of the 1640-60 House of Lords section, explores the role of the peers in securing the right of Parliament to meet regularly. The Triennial Act of February 1641 was the first piece of legislation passed by the ‘Long Parliament’ in its momentous thirteen-year history of reform, rule and, in 1649, regicide. Of course, none of the peers and MPs who had … Continue reading The Baronial Context of the 1641 Triennial Act
Henry Benedict, Cardinal York (1725-1807), born 300 years ago this March, was the last member of the royal family to take an active role in a papal Conclave, when he participated in the election of Pope Pius VII at Venice in 1800. Dr Robin Eagles investigates how he found himself in that position… On 6 March 1725, Pope Benedict XIII (1724-30) was roused from a … Continue reading The Last of the Jacobites: Henry Benedict
In our first ‘Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments‘ article of 2025, Editor of the 1640-60 House of Lords section, Dr David Scott, considers the leading parliamentarian peer, Viscount Saye and Sele, and his relationship with the archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. ‘The Warre was begun in our streets before the King or Parliament had any Armies’ concluded the renowned church leader Richard Baxter about the outbreak of … Continue reading Lord Saye and Sele and the Battle for Oxford
In the latest Revolutionary Stuart Parliaments article, Dr Patrick Little looks at the relationship between two brothers-in-law who ended up on opposing sides during the civil war. William Seymour, 2nd earl (and later 1st marquess) of Hertford married Frances Devereux, sister of Robert Devereux, 3rd earl of Essex, in 1617. This was a match between two powerful families, both of which had experienced the ups … Continue reading ‘Friendship and alliance’: the marquess of Hertford and the earl of Essex
An event celebrating the the publication of a new edition of The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell was held at Huntingdon Town Hall. Alex Beeton, Research Assistant of our House of Lords 1640-1660 project, discusses the event. On 6 March 2023, the History of Parliament, in collaboration with Oxford University’s ‘Britain in Revolution Seminar’, helped to organise a roundtable to celebrate the publication of … Continue reading Launching the Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, Oxford March 2023
In exciting news for the History of Parliament, 2023 sees the publication of our long-running House of Commons 1640-1660 project. Here the section editor, Dr Stephen Roberts, reflects on the hard work that multiple historians have put into this project, and discusses some of the interesting people and events of this time. Since 2010, the History of Parliament’s published survey of the House of Commons … Continue reading Introducing The House of Commons, 1640-1660
This Valentine’s Day, Paul Seaward, Director of the History of Parliament, reflects on the marital devotion of Sir Henry North, and questions how devoted North truly was… In the parish church at Mildenhall, Suffolk, close by the chancel, there is a pair of modest, but distinctly odd monuments, placed side by side. One bears a plain inscription noting the death in 1671 of Sir Henry … Continue reading For St Valentine’s Day, a sad story about marital devotion from Civil War and Restoration Suffolk – or is it?
In our latest blog we’re returning to the ‘Recovering Europe’s Parliamentary Culture, 1500-1700’ project. Since autumn 2021, we have been working with the University of Oxford and the Centre for Intellectual History at the University of Oxford to put together series of blogs that explore European Parliamentary Culture. The series is focused on the Early Modern period – roughly 1500-1700 – but they have ranged more widely, seeking to bring in some scholars of … Continue reading The English Revolution and the History of Majority Rule
In today’s blog Dr Stephen Roberts concludes his three-part blog series discussing parliamentary reactions to the 17th century transatlantic slave trade. Here Dr Roberts considers the case of a group of political prisoners who had been transported as indentured servants in 1655. As noted in the first blog, the transportation of slaves from West Africa grew proportionally with the development of the Caribbean as an … Continue reading Parliament and Forced Colonial Labour in Richard Cromwell’s Parliament, 1659
Over the past few weeks the eyes of the world have been on Washington. As the United States prepares to swear in its 46th President, Joe Biden, after what has been a tumultuous transition of power, Dr Stephen Roberts examines the threat of violence against the seat of power in 17th century Britain in our latest blog… The great achievement of the English Parliament between … Continue reading Violence at the Door of Parliament, 1640-48
